Please help me diagnose this rash on face - pic attached

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Hello all

I have been developing a rash on my face and over the past 3 weeks. This morning, it looks like someone has poured acid on my face as there are loads of red patches. It is very hot and itchy and eyes are puffy. Not raised. It starts to get itchy/tingly in the middle of the night. I have stopped wearing perfume and there have been no major dietary changes. Went to GP who gave me anti-histamines and antibiotic cream even though there is no infection. Any advice on what steps to take next?

Thanks zzzz. Yes I'm thinking it's something to do with my bed but nothing has really changed (except I washed my duvet in the washing machine a couple of weeks ago). I don't use softener and pillow covers are cotton. I bought a Bioderma face wash for sensitive skin at the weekend as my previous one was too strong.

zzzzz I think you may be right. I was sleeping on side last night and that is the side that is very irritated. I seem to be feeling quite ragey also. I grew up with eczema on my hands but rarely had an attack like this on my face.

Drinking 2 litres a day...

Go to the doctors. You probably have a skin infection and they'll give you antibiotics

You might find this stuff helpful:

www.skinshop.co.uk/kalme-undercoat

It helped with a flare up of rosacea I had.

Don’t put ANYTHING on it. Just wash with cool water.

This I think you need to see a doc about. You’ve only put a pic of one side on - is the rash on both sides? Does it cross over the nose and go down both cheeks?

I think this needs investigation. It could be eczema, in which case you may need steroids to damp it down. It could be an infection, in which case it needs seeing pronto. It could be a Malar rash, in which case your GP will want to run more tests. Although that’s generally contained to the cheeks not down the neck.

Anyway - this one needs the GP to look. Take some well lit photos, frontal and each side, daily, to show them until you get the appt.

If you develop a high fever, go and be seen immediately.

I recently had a rash that was eventually diagnosed as perioral dermatitis. It gets worse with steriod cream over time. It started much more slowly than this though

Zinc based creams were the best by far. If you think it could be this then there is a great facebook support group. I had to change everything I did for my skin. 6 weeks of oral antibiotics, steroid withdrawal etc..

patient.info/health/skin-rashes/perioral-dermatitis

Keep an eye on your temperature and if it's higher than it should be and not going down with the antibiotic cream go back to docs as skin infections can lead to cellulitis which is harder to treat.

Thank you all for your great advice. It's covering face, eyelids, forehead, neck and on both sides. The chilly air on my face felt like such a relief this morning.

Now the battle to see a GP begins....

I don't have a temperature yet but will keep an eye on it.

I was given fucidin which felt like it was burning my skin and made it redder - stopped using it.

Cottonsocks - yes it started around the mouth weeks ago but has become inflamed and spread to the rest of the face.

Did the antibiotics help?

Yes it's more or less gone now after a 6 week low dose course.
It does not tend to occur on forehead though, but can around eyes.

This blog is good.
www.laurendamarie.com/laurenda-marie/my-perioral-dermatitis

Hi OP I had something similar a few months ago now . I think I have deduced that it was an allergic reaction to my boots moisturiser which I had been using fine for years previously!
Anyway I had oral and topical steroids prescribed and it cleared up very quickly.
My GP said if it recurred he would refer me to a dermatologist.

I was also recommended on here la Roche posay cicaplast which I found very soothing .
The GP recommended Dermol / aveeno for face too but I found them too slimy !
Good luck it was horrible so I hope you can get it sorted asap

I was using boots number 7 as well. Plus make up. Switched to la roche and also mineral make up. You can make a mask with zinc powder and a little water. A lot of stuff that helped me had zinc in, like the make up.

Have you decorated ? A while ago I saw very similar and they couldn’t work out what it was and turned out to be an allergy to gloss paint

Not decorated.
It is looking and feeling more inflamed since this morning, and so could well be an infection.

If it’s worsened in a day you need to see a doctor quickly. Soft tissue infections can lead to cellulitis and septaceamia quite fast. A family member had erisepalis and was hours from being in quite a bad way with it.
Go and take your temperature as well. Is there a walk-in centre within reach of you? I’d suggest that.

I agree please get to the surgery or walk in if you can. It looked very angry in the photo and you must be very uncomfortable.

Thank you all for your great advice.

I managed to see the GP yesterday, who said she thought it was eczema and prescribed me antibiotics and an ointment called Protopic, which is an immunosupressant (no steroids in it). It's absolutely amazing - I'd say the rash has gone down by 50% overnight.

I found this interesting blog about a woman who has been through similar and was prescribed Protopic:
www.whatallergy.com/2014/09/how-protopic-for-eczema-changed-my-life/

Great. I was really so much better once I got the right treatment for mine. Not many GPs know about the steroid resistant dermatitis I had. Steroids made it initially better, then stopped working and just made it worse. Then withdrawl was awful. If you can treat it without steroids then you avoid the cycle.
I use african black soap too, which people in my support group swear by.

I was very lucky with GP yesterday as she suggested a non-steroid option straight away. Please could you PM the name of the support group?